In Time
by Amora Risa
Summary: "If you want to be a part of this family-" "Yeah, I know the rest!" Louie cut Della off. "But maybe you should consider that you are in fact the one that doesn't belong in our family!" Or what happens when Louie finally gets his feelings out of his chest.


"Louie! What have you done?" Della's voice sounded harsh and echoed through the dark cave.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him.

No, not again.

"I… I was just…"

"You put everyone in danger! Your mind is always on the gold!" she shouted.

"Della…" her brother, much calmer, tried to reach for her arm, but she didn't let him finish.

"I almost lost your brothers because of your recklessness!" she pointed to Huey and Dewey. "I fought for ten years to come back to this family, you don't get to take them away from me!"

"You say that as if you didn't fight to come back to me too" Louie complained with a hurt look.

"I didn't say that, Louie! Don't change the subject!" she yelled louder than before and Louie noticed everyone around her flinch. "What you did was far beyond any excuse or—"

"Hey, guys! I'm here! Quick!" Launchpad's voice interrupted them.

He had arrived just in time to pick them up.

They all got into the Sunchaser and far from the collapsing cave. Another daring adventure. But for Louie they all ended up worse than the last time.

They were all safe. That was what was important. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. Except Donald. He was the only one to notice the bleeding wound in Louie's arm, now that there was light around them, and the green-hooded triplet was sure that his uncle hadn't even noticed that huge bruise on his own face.

"I've told you to be careful!" Donald said strictly while bandaging it. "First it's just the arm, then it will be your leg, your teeth, your brain!"

Louie didn't want to admit it, but he absolutely loved it when his uncle would scold him like that. It may seem harsh, but he knew he really was looking out for him, only because he cared.

But Della's scolding… Well, that was not the case. He had to prepare himself for this.

"Louie!" she called him when Donald finished taking care of his arm.

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything to say about happened?" she asked in an ironic tone.

"Let him rest, Della. It was an accident. We'll talk about it when we get home" her twin brother said.

"No, Donald! We talk about this now!" she replied furious.

"It's alright, we are all okay!" Huey hesitantly tried to reason with her, but she ignored him and continued talking.

"You endangered us yet another time, young man! Maybe you shouldn't be coming on adventures at all!"

"Maybe I don't even like your crazy adventures" Louie burst out. "I just want to be with my family!"

"If you want to be a part of this family-"

"Yeah, I know the rest!" he cut her off. "But maybe you should consider that you are in fact the one that doesn't belong in our family".

His brothers were the first to gasp. Uncle Scrooge looked away and Webby brought her hand to her heart with a shocked expression. Uncle Donald just gave him a sad look and then turned his eyes to the floor.

And Della… A sudden look of surprise and hurt was formed in her dirty from the cave face, but it quickly gave way to an expression of pure anger.

"What… did you… just say?" she asked slowly, her hands in tight fists.

"I think you heard" he murmured, hiding his hands inside his front pocket.

"Okay, that's it! When we arrive you go to your room, no television, no—"

"Yeah, fine. Ground me. That's the only way you know how to deal with me, right?"

He wasn't looking at her, but at the sound of her voice he understood that this was the last straw for her.

"Leave us alone!"

"Lass…" uncle Scrooge said.

"I said leave us alone!" Della repeated louder.

There was awkwardness in the air for a few seconds and no one moved, until Donald placed his hands in Huey and Dewey's shoulders and gently said:

"Come on, guys. Let's leave them some space".

Their footsteps sounded uneasy and hurried.

"Great job, you got mom angry again!" Dewey scoffed with disappointment when he passed right by him.

Typical Dewey! Always defended her! She could do anything, abandon them and go to the moon for another decade and he would still be on her side!

As soon as the two of them were left alone, Della began walking up and down, her pace fast as crazy at first, but then slowing down. He heard her take deep breaths.

He had never seen her like that.

"What is your problem with me?" Della asked him, trying to keep herself together.

"No, no. You have a problem with me!" he shouted at her with all his power. "Because I don't need you like Dewey does! And I'm not so desperate to spend time with you, unlike Huey! I was fine without you and you just can't accept it".

Della was in loss of words. Her frustration faded away. Now there was only pain in her face.

"Louie, I… I don't know why you're saying things like that, but I don't have a problem with you. You're my kid, I love you!"

"Stop saying that! I'm tired of hearing it!" he yelled.

"Honey, it's the truth!"

"Well then act like it first".

"I am! When I grounded you, I did it for your own good!" she raised her voice.

"And the malfunctioning robot that tried to kill me was an extra present? And when you didn't check up on me for a whole day, was it out of love? I'll give you that, you have a very strange way to show your love".

"You can't still be mad at me for your punishment! Louie, we've already talked about this! We made up, why do you have to bring it up again?"

"We didn't talk about anything!" he shouted back at her. "That thing between us in the Sunchaser… You just were sad and I happened to stand there and cheer you up! I gave you what you needed. That doesn't mean we even came close to solving… all of this!"

"But… I don't get it! We sang together the lullaby, I held you in my arms…"

"And I loved it! Okay?" he shouted, tears ready to fall from his eyes, his voice trembling. "But honestly did you think that that was going to be the end of it? I didn't have a mom for ten years! You think a lullaby is enough to fix that?"

"I… I don't know! What else do I do?"

"I don't have idea, you figure it out. It's your job as a parent, if you even know what that word means" Louie scorned her.

He was ready to hear another lecture and receive another punishment.

But instead of that, he just saw her kneel down.

"I'm trying! I really am. I'm sorry" she said through her sobs.

Silence.

Only her unsteady breathing could be heard.

But on Louie's head many voices echoed:

"Are you insane? You finally have a mother who adores you! Why can't you appreciate that?" was what Dewey had said to him after Della had grounded him.

That wasn't true. He did appreciate her. He appreciated all of her effort to come back from the moon, her unconditional love, her struggle to adjust to her new life and to show her kids her affection.

But for a strange reason, that wasn't enough for Louie. She wasn't his mom. At least not just yet.

Della broke the silence with a hoarse voice:

"Sometimes I miss the moon" she whispered and the boy's eyes widened. "It was lonely and cold, but you know what, I got used to it. And I had something really special: hope. I kept fighting to survive, because in my mind a loving family would wait for me. And in my mind everything was perfect! But reality is different I guess".

Louie slowly walked close to her and sat down beside her.

"You know, you are actually right" Della continued. "I mean, when you said that I don't belong in this family. Because this is a very different family from the one I left ten years ago. Back then you weren't even born! And uncle Scrooge was so different, much more reckless and harsh sometimes. And what can I say about Donald? Back then he was careless, he used to make jokes, he wasn't anxious about every instant in his daily life. And now he's… What he did for you, guys, I could never have…"

She quickly covered her face with her hands and leaned on her knees. She was shaking. And Louie had never felt more scared in his life. Sure, he had fought demons and zombies, but the sight of his mom crying was unbearable.

"I did this to him" Della continued. "And I can never make up for it, just like I can't make it up to you. I thought I could just spend more time with you, celebrate all your previous birthdays I missed, tell you ten stories before you go to bed instead of one, and it would be like I was never gone. I was wrong! I can't pretend that I wasn't gone! I lost ten years and no matter how close we grow together now, those years are lost! They are never coming back! I guess that's why I was so impatient to form a bond with you. I didn't want to lose any more time. But with my actions, I lost you" she looked deep into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Louie. I never meant to lose you again".

She reached out to caress his face, but saw him pull back. With a sad look she dropped her hand.

Why did he do that? It was just an instinct, he didn't orchestrate it. Why did he have to make it so difficult? He knew he craved that touch. Her hand was right there, he could take it into his own hands and place it on his cheek, where it belonged, if he could just fight his ego.

So close.

And yet miles apart. Farther from the moon, farther than any known galaxy. That was how distant her touch seemed.

Louie knew that Della would have smiled if he had let her caress him. And that smile would be more precious than any piece of gold in the world. But he just couldn't bring himself to that.

Louie's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly now it hit him: his mom was here.

It felt so nice he feared that it was just a dream, that he was going to wake up to a life where his mom never came back, where he didn't even know if she was alive.

But no, it was true. She really was there with him. Louie's face was filled with tears before he could even realize it.

"You didn't lose me" he whispered to her. "Alright, I'm angry at you most of the time and I feel like I don't even know you. And you don't really know me either, at least not like uncle Donald does. But that's okay. I don't expect you to be a perfect mother. You just came back. But you need to understand that when problems come, you won't be the person I will go to. You can't just come back into my life like that and claim authority over me".

She nodded slowly in agreement.

"Thanks for being honest, Louie. I needed to hear this. I admit it hurt a little, but please be more open with me. I know I will never be what Donald is to you, but maybe I could be part of your life if you let me. In time. We should work it out".

"Yeah, I would like that. I'm sorry I can't connect to you like Huey and Dewey do. Things would have been so much easier if I could just-"

"Hey, you feel the way you do and you shouldn't feel guilty about it" she interrupted him. "In fact I am the one who must feel guilty. I abandoned you for a stupid adventure. And I didn't even apologize to you for that. I know I said I regretted every single day on that stupid rock, but I didn't ask for forgiveness. It was my fault! You lost me and that's on me. I'm sorry I left you, Louie".

His eyes were fixed on the floor. He never thought he would hear her say that.

"I really appreciate that. And of course I forgive you, you've already suffered enough pain on the moon, you don't need my mixed feelings to hurt you more. I'm sorry I made you cry" he apologized in return.

"It's okay, I think I deserve it" she chuckled sadly.

"No, you don't. You deserve Huey and Dewey. You deserve to be wanted, you deserve your kids to need you. But, I'm sorry, I just don't feel this way! I tried to fake it, but it didn't work. I'm more scared than happy in the idea that you came back into our lives".

"Sometimes I'm scared too. I may pretend to be fearless, but most of the time I'm just terrified".

Louie cupped her trembling hand and took a huge breath.

"I'm not used to having a mom" he sighed. "And just like you miss the moon sometimes, I miss the time when I didn't have you. Because then things were not complicated, because everything made sense exactly as it was, and I was used to it just fine! But now you are here and I have to accept that. I'm not saying that I didn't die of happiness when I saw your face for the first time, but I'm not ready to let myself give in to this feeling".

"It's alright. I was preparing myself for ten years to meet you, you didn't. It's sudden. And I don't think I've given you the space you need. I am your mother, but until you really see me this way I have to cut down on my discipline strategies, let Donald step in. You think that's okay?"

"Yes. I believe it's for the best" he smiled at her. "It was wrong of me to say that you don't belong in this family. My brothers love the dirt you step upon, uncle Scrooge only talks about you and uncle Donald adores you. You are more family to them than I could ever hope to be. I'm always left out. And your punishment only confirmed that".

"Honey…" she sighed and moved closer to him. "That's not true. I'm sorry about what I said. You don't ever have to doubt your place in our family. No matter what you do, no matter how many schemes of yours go wrong, you'll always be my son. I promise I will do my best to show this to you every single day. Sometimes, we might feel lonely or left out, but that doesn't mean we are not part of the family. Huey is so protective of you, Dewey thinks you are the coolest kid ever…"

"He does?" Louie asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but don't tell him I told you" she blinked one eye. "Uncle Scrooge is so proud of the person you are growing to be. Webby would risk her life for you. Donald loves you with all of his heart. And I… I have made it the goal of my life to keep you safe and love you".

"Thanks" he smiled while wiping off his tears. "I'm really thankful for that. I just need time to adjust".

"Of course. No pressure. I promise we'll get there in time".

"Yeah" he leaned on her shoulder. "In time".


End file.
